From the architect. The project to reactivate the old Hacienda San Antonio Chable for a new hotel comprises the restoration and adaptation of the ancient buildings that make up the main settlement of the hacienda, as well as the open spaces, squares and gardens surrounding them. The hacienda, whose first records obtained date from the year 1813, began as a corn and livestock farm, and later as an henequen fiber production site.

Ground floor plan

In order of construction, the hacienda complex is made up of a square surrounded by the main house, the administrator’s house, orchards and their irrigation canals, livestock pens, machinery room, the courtyards and an eclectic styled portal, surrounded by workmen dwellings.

The restoration.The main house presented serious structural problems in much of the building, whose arches and roofs were at risk of collapsing due to years of stagnant rainfall and a poor drainage system. In order to rescue the structures of an imminent collapse, the original constructive systems were used, taking advantage of the new elements restored to incorporate new technologies of lighting, voice and data according to the new use. The semi-basement and lower arches, which housed grain cellars in the early stages of the hacienda, were also restored and adapted for new activities.

Before

While in some spaces and buildings the original construction system was restored, in other cases the intervention criteria contemplated the preservation and consolidation of ruined spaces to evidence the passage of time, the action of nature and the place’s historical value.

In exterior spaces such as squares, pens and orchards a rescue of the vegetal landscape was carried out, since years of abandonment kept them under a thick layer of weed, preventing the normal development of existing trees and affecting the space for local culture of ingredients needed in the hotel. In that sense, more than 3000 new plants were incorporated, both decorative and consumer.

As part of the main hull assembly a cenote (underground water cavern) was found. With the help of a multidisciplinary team we carried out the cleaning and rehabilitation of its natural waterflows, generating the heart and image of the new hotel.